Kolin Interviewed for Renowned Publications

Dr. Philip C. Kolin, University Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Letters at The University of Southern Mississippi and editor of the Southern Quarterly, was recently interviewed by Peter Menkin, religion writer for both the San Francisco Examiner and the Church of England Newspaper.

Menkin interviewed Kolin about his five books of Christian poetry, Reading God's Handwriting (2012) being the most recent. Kolin's poetry has also appeared in major publications including Anglican Theological Review, Christian Century, Spiritus, America, Christianity and Literature, the Windhover, Theology Today, among many others and his last three books--Wailing Walls: Poems (2006), A Parable of Women:Poems (2009), and Reading God's Handwriting elicited a great number of positive reviews.

The interview covered such topics as the influence Kolin's background and Catholicism have played in his poetry; the ways in which Kolin builds upon Scriptures to construct a poem, and the various techniques Kolin has used to create his poetry.

As part of the interview, Menkin, a distinguished religion journalist, included full text of six of Kolin's poem plus images of Kolin and various sites on campus.

Menkin's interview ranked among the top 10 stories in the Church of England Newspaper, the official paper of the Anglican Church, and was also picked up by Kindle. He plans to publish a book of interviews with major Christian poets later this year and will include his conversation with Kolin in the volume.

In addition to editing the Southern Quarterly and continuing his extensive research in contemporary drama, Kolin is the publisher and editor of Vineyards: A Journal of Christian Poetry.